A 38-year-old man was fatally stabbed to dying on a Manhattan subway platform Friday morning (native time) after an argument over a stepped-on shoe turned violent, police mentioned.
The sufferer, recognized as John Sheldon of Brooklyn, was attacked round 8:30 am on the Brooklyn Bridge-Metropolis Corridor station. In line with police, Sheldon and one other man started arguing aboard a downtown No. 5 prepare after the assailant stepped on Sheldon’s footwear. The confrontation escalated, and Sheldon was stabbed as soon as on the prepare and once more after each males exited on the station.
Officers responding to a 911 name discovered Sheldon unconscious on the platform with a number of stab wounds to his torso. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, the place he was pronounced useless.
The suspect, believed to be in his 20s or 30s and wearing black with black headphones, fled the scene. Authorities mentioned the lads didn’t know one another. No arrests have been made as of Friday afternoon, and the investigation stays ongoing.
The killing comes amid heightened scrutiny of security on the subway system, following current high-profile assaults. Though general crime within the subway has declined this yr, the incident might gasoline lingering considerations amongst riders.
“A whole lot of the time I’d relatively take a 30- or 40-minute stroll simply because when you’re in there and it is transferring, you may’t actually get out,” mentioned Elizabeth Daley, a 20-year-old commuter ready on the uptown platform.
Others expressed resignation to the hazards of city transit. “Clearly it freaks me out, however it’s New York. It’s a standard factor,” mentioned Jonathan Ricket, a 19-year-old school pupil. “I’m simply glad I didn’t see it.”
In line with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, there had been no homicides within the subway system from January via March—marking the primary such stretch in seven years. Main subway crimes had been additionally down 18% within the first quarter, and general transit crime is sort of 11% decrease in comparison with the identical interval final yr.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, at present in a standoff with the Trump administration over crime-related funding, has maintained that the system is safer resulting from an elevated police presence.
Nonetheless, with Friday’s stabbing, officers might face renewed public strain to deal with security considerations extra aggressively.
